The King of Fruits could be promoted as a tourism product to attract more tourists to Malaysia, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

He said that the tourist potential was evident from the overwhelming response from the public to the Great Durian Festival 2007 held in Bukit Gantang near here yesterday.

"The status (of the durian festival) will be elevated to national level next year and perhaps international level the following year," he said.

More than 10,000 people thronged the festival and caused a massive traffic jam stretching several kilometres along the Bukit Gantang-Changkat Jering trunk road.

Earlier, in his opening speech, Najib officially announced Bukit Gantang as the promotion centre for durians and urged the relevant authorities to aggressively promote the fruit.

"Branding is very important to ensure the success of durians as a tourism product," Najib said.

He also said that the current allocation of RM100,000 for the festival would be increased should the need arise next year.

Some 30,000 fruits were made available to the public.

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali said the state government would consider holding a similar durian festival along the North-South Expressway to allow those from outside the state to enjoy the fruit.

"Perhaps, we could hold it at the Sungai Perak rest area since it has ample space for those wishing to try the durians," he said.